May 22, 2014

Mid-May Ruminations & Cogitations



Above is a photo of another rustic window along the Church Street side of a historical home in Charleston. If I had the presence of mind during my photo shoot, it would have been nice to do a panorama setup on the building. There was some crazy good texture going on! Ah, I will remember to go back to this location during the next visit to Charleston.

Activities have finally settled down well enough to give you an update on how we are doing. We’ve had a few low points lately, and we hope to catch an upswing. Mr. Jim’s breathing was getting extremely poor last week, and his resting pulse rate was scary high. After conferring with some medical professionals on the phone, we headed off to the emergency room on Friday morning. He got a thorough workup and testing by an excellent team of doctors and nurses.

The diagnosis was bilateral pulmonary embolism. The condition is common for pancreatic cancer patients. Mr. Jim had an IVC filter operation in early April to prevent large blood clots from going to his lungs. Unfortunately, it looks like multiple small blood clots got through and started congregating together. Hence, the labored breathing and high pulse rate. Further tests determined that he sustained some heart strain, but no heart damage.

So Mr. Jim was in the hospital from Friday through Sunday afternoon, getting an abundance of medical attention and a heparin IV drip. Once the IV was finished, he started taking xalerto, a blood thinner pill. He will be taking that for months to come. We had some scary moments and got through them! Mr. Jim is now resting up for chemo round #5 next week.

We also talked things over during his hospital stay and decided to cancel our long-awaited Newfoundland trip scheduled in July. It broke our hearts to have to cancel two years in a row, but it is the prudent thing to do at this point. We were especially looking forward to photographing adorable puffins and staying at one of the beautiful Elizabeth J. Cottages along the Newfoundland coastline. But it wasn’t meant to be. If Mr. Jim can rally later on this summer with the help of the chemotherapy regimen, we will explore the possibility of a road trip that would pose minimal exertion.

That's all for now. You can expect my self-imposed blogging slowdown to continue for a while. Life takes priority. We greatly appreciate your continued support and prayers!

20 comments:

  1. I hope you are both getting some much needed rest. We are keeping you both in our prayers my friend! Sweet hugs, Diane

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  2. Yes, life takes priority. And, I know you've both been through a lot. It's not always the patient; it's the ones who love the patient so much.

    I'm here with continued prayers from my heart for you and Mr. Jim.
    xoxo

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  3. So sorry to hear of your low points, but relieved to know that Mr. Jim received good care and the root issues were addressed. My heart goes out to both of you as you are walking this difficult path.

    Continued support and prayers? You've got both, my friend!!

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  4. Blogging is low on the priority list, Mr Jim getting better is what's important as well as you taking good care of yourself. Sending thoughts and prayers your way.

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  5. i am glad they discovered the problem and gave medication to rectify it! i know this is a whole new level of stressful for both of you. keep your chins up!

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  6. WOW what a roller coaster you've been on. I hope things are better this week, rest up Newfoundland will be there when you're both ready to get there. Take it easy, enjoy your lovely cottage, and each other for the next little bit, and we'll keep praying for good news.

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  7. Thank you for taking the time to update us. You have so much to do! Life got pretty choppy there last weekend and I am so glad that the immediate needs were addressed and that Jim is now gearing up for his next chemo. Praying for less excitement, restored health, fewer disappointments, and the sure knowledge that you are in the hands of a loving God. Love to you both.

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  8. Thank you for the update. Prayers will continue for healing and comfort during treatment. Life does take priority. Hugs.

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  9. Bob and I were concerned again, we always try to remember to have a little chat about you and Mr. Jim, and we continue wishing you both better days ahead. Sorry the hospitalization was necessary, glad there was a great team working to diagnose and treat what turned up.
    You remain in our prayers each day - many thanks Donna for keeping us updated.

    Hugs and blessings to you both.

    Mary XX

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  10. Prayers for both of you, Donna. I know this has been as hard on you (in different ways of course) as it has been on Jim.... Bless both of you.
    Hugs,
    Betsy
    P.S. Hopefully, you can travel again when Jim feels better!!

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  11. Thank you for the update. What a scary time you've both had but I'm glad Jim was able to get the medical help he needed. My prayers continue and I always enjoy hearing a bit from you. Sending bunches of hugs to you!
    ~Adrienne~

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  12. Thanks for keeping us updated on Jim's recovery. That must have been a scary weekend but it's wonderful that Jim got immediate medical attention to address the problem. Take care of yourselves and I'll keep praying for Jim. Blessings and hugs. Pam

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  13. Thanks for the update Donna. I'm sorry you had to cancel your trip but hopefully Jim will be well enough later in the summer for another one! As always, you guys are in my thought and prayers.

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  14. I'm with everyone else! Sending tons of prayer and love to you both!! Don't worry about the "slowdown" in blogging...I think everyone else is doing the same.
    Sweet weekend to you both dear one!!!
    (((HUG)))

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  15. I have not been keeping up lately, but I do think of you all the time, and I had hoped that Jim was doing much better. So this update was not what I was hoping to hear. I'm sorry, and will continue to keep you both in my prayers. I am sending you hugs! I miss keeping in daily touch, remember when we battled for the most posts once? LOL, that was super fun!

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  16. Donna
    So sorry to hear another trip to the hospital was needed, but it's fortunate they caught the blood clots before permanent damage was down.
    We're praying every day for you both. I only wish there was more we could do for you, Donna.
    Sending hugs your way-Kimberly

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  17. thinking of you both Donna.
    hope you will have a better month
    have had a surprise rush trip to your fair country to help babysit the young grandson, while my daughter is here on business.
    what fun.
    hopefully life will be back to normal for us soon, with a dose of jetlag again on arrival home no doubt. I have been very slack at photography this time, and little posting.
    will have to look up what the next photo challenge will be.

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  18. ps So sad you had to cancel your Newfoundland trip.
    Prayers for you both.

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  19. Oh how scary for you both...such a hard thing to go through. And I'm so sorry you are having to cancel your trip, but hopefully some time will get him feeling better and you can make that smaller trip. Keeping good thoughts and prayers for you...xo

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  20. Donna, sending my love and prayers to Mr. Jim. I don't always have time to visit, but I think about both of you often. I'm sorry you had to cancel your long-awaited trip, but I hope a fabulous road trip is in store for you later this summer :)
    Hugs,
    Donna

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Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!